Wednesday, October 27, 2010

It sounds so badass, doesn't it? Freelensing. Like Tom Petty is microwaving your $3,000 DSLR just to get high off the fumes or something. Well, truth be told, freelensing is a little badass, as far as photography techniques go.

The Challenge

Take a photo using the technique of freelensing, like our lead shot by jrdn7730. What the heck is freelensing? Read on.

The Method

Freelensing is when you take a photo with your lens detached from your camera body. You unlock the lens and CAREFULLY pivot it anywhere from a few millimeters to several inches. Depending, the results will look like tilt shift or macro photography. And that makes sense, because a tilt shift lens works a lot like the technique described...though instead of laying down the cash for the traditionally expensive glass, you can capture the effect this way for free. Just keep in mind that light leaks come with the territory.

Now, a word of warning: Man wasn't meant to take photos like this. Beyond the obvious possibility of dropping your lens, you're also exposing your camera's internals to moisture and dust. Done properly, freelensing isn't much more risky than swapping out your lens. But I wouldn't recommend keeping that lens detached for very long. Plan your shot. Detach. Snag the shot. Seal the lens back on the camera.

The Rules - READ THESE

1. Submissions need to be your own. 2. Photos need to be taken AFTER the challenge was announced. 3. Explain, briefly, the equipment, settings, technique and story behind shot. 4. Email submissions to contests@gizmodo.com, not me. 5. Include 800px wide image (200KB or less) AND a 2560x1600 sized in email. (The 800px image is the one judged, so feel free to crop/alter the larger image for wallpaper-sized dimensions.) 6. One submission per person. 7. Use the proper SUBJECT line in your email (more info on that below)

Send your best photo by Monday, November 1st at 8AM Eastern to contests@gizmodo.com with "Freelensing" in the subject line. Save your files as JPGs, and use a FirstnameLastnameFreelensing.jpg (800px wide) and FirstnameLastnameFreelensingWallpaper.jpg (2560px wide) naming conventions. Include your shooting summary (camera, lens, ISO, etc) in the body of the email along with a story of the shot in a few sentences. And don't skip this story part because it's often the most enjoyable part for us all beyond the shot itself!